What Letters are for
by desy
Summary: [UNEXPECTED TURN-Universe] (But Stand-Alone) This is a nice story about how Rin learns reading and writing. (teached by Jaken :-) ) Of course Sesshoumaru is in here, too. (COMPLETE)
1. Chapter 1 Letters

**Disclaimer: **The show and manga 'InuYasha' and all its characters belong to R. Takahashi and Sunrise. I own nothing.

**A/N 1: **This fanfic is a stand-alone, but it is still part of the 'UNEXPECTED TURN-UNIVERSE'. This is the first of some short side stories to the main plot of the 'UNEXPECTED TURN-UNIVERSE'. If you are looking for the main fanfic 'UNEXPECTED TURN' then you are looking in vain, yet, cos it isn't written yet. (but soon I hope)

**A/N 2:** Please review. Flames are allowed, but please consider that English is my second language and I wrote this within an hour at 11PM. And tenses never were my favourites in English grammar.

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Vocabulary:

inu = dog

youkai = demon

hai = yes

arigato = thanks

_**What Letters are for**_

The sunrays melted away the last evidences from the long cold winter that just had found its end a few days ago. For the first time in sixty years the Lord of the Western Lands had spend a whole winter in his castle's shelter. It wasn't because of him. He was a full Inu-youkai, who didn't need protection from the freezing cold. It was because of his little human ward.

It's more than a half a year ago when Sesshoumaru was found wounded by the little human girl, called Rin. She hadn't feared him then and she always showed respect towards him and listened to his every word. Every time he left the girl, she waited for him no matter how long he'd have been gone. She would cheerfully run towards him, hugging his leg and telling him how much she had missed him. The child was loud but not annoying and he liked her company.

The brown-haired girl was a few meters in front of her lord and his servant Jaken, happily binding the final flowers together to her first chain that she'd made in this new year. She inspected her handmade work and threw it in the air, watching the white blooms glitter in the sunlight. When she caught it a strange thing out of wood fell into her eyes. Rin went closer to it studying the black symbols on a wooden ground that was put up into the air by a wooden bar.

Curious she turned around facing her lord. "Huh, what's that?" She pointed her index-finger to the wooden construction.

Jaken approached the girl and answered her in a really annoyed voice: "That's a sign."

The eight-year old wasn't satisfied by the toad's respond. "What's a sign for, Jaken-sama?"

"A sign tells you where to go." Told Jaken while rolling his big eyes.

"How can wood talk?" Now Rin was confused. Never could the little green demon explain something to her without being boring and in a way she didn't get what he was saying; but Sesshoumaru-sama could explain everything to her. "Rin doesn't hear anything."

"Not the wood, you stupid human!" Jaken screamed at the child, but earned Sesshoumaru's cold glare. 'Oh, no. My life's going to be shorter and shorter.'

The Lord of the Western Lands stood next to his young ward. "Rin, you see the symbols on the wood?" The girl nodded understanding and her lord continued. "These are letters. You can write every spoken word with letters. So you can 'tell' someone else something without really speaking to him."

Rin's eyes widened when she understood the importance of these weird drawings. "And what do these letters tell us?"

"They 'say' that the castle of Lord Takeshi is in that direction."

"Oh." After a moment she inquired more information. "How do you know that, Sesshoumaru-sama?"

"I read the letters on this sign." His emotionless gaze fell upon the girl.

She looked up at him directly in his eyes, not fearing anything. "Can Rin learn to read letters, too?"

That was enough. Jaken couldn't understand why the mighty Sesshoumaru wasted his precious time with explaining simple stuff to a stupid worthless human child. "Of course not! You are a girl! Girls don't have to learn to read!"

"Jaken!" growled Sesshoumaru angry shushing his servant with another glare.

The lord looked to Rin then back to Jaken, deciding what to do. "I have business to take care of. Jaken, while I'm gone, I want you to teach Rin how to write and to read."

"But, me lord?"

"Understood?!" asked Sesshoumaru quiet, awaiting obedience by his servant.

With a deep sigh the little toad-demon gave in. "Hai, me lord." Hearing that, a cheerful yelp escaped from Rin's lips and she threw her little arms around the servant's neck. Jaken immediately tried to push the child away. "Stop it!"

"Arigato, Sesshoumaru-sama! Arigato, Jaken-sama!" Delight appeared all over the child's face.

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TBC…

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PLEASE REVIEW


	2. Chapter 2 Teaching methodes

A/N: Thanks for the reviews. I hope you also like this part. It's longer than the first one.

Vocabulary:

sakura = cherry

sensei = teacher

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Two full-moons had past and spring had fully arrived in Feudal Japan. The meadows were green with high grass and wonderful flowers covered a little hill, not far away from the clearing Rin, Jaken and AhUn were waiting for their master's return. On the edge of the clearing big sakura-trees stood like motionless guards reaching with their heavy branches to the sky.

Rin hold a bunch of grass to the dragon and Un took greedy a mouthful of it, still careful not to bite in the child's fingers.

"Rin, stop playing at once and come here! I thought you wanna learn reading!" Jaken screamed on the tip of his lungs for the hundreds times that day. Personally it didn't bother ihm if that human runt would learn something or not. But Sesshoumaru wouldn't be pleased, if the child would not learn anything and would complain again about his teaching methods. It wouldn't be healthy for him.

The girl looked to the little green demon. "But AhUn is hungry."

"It can eat alone."

Giving in, Rin let out a long sigh, dropping the food to the ground. She petted Ah on its flaky skin and went slowly back to their camp.

Why couldn't Sesshoumaru teach her reading and writing? Jaken was so boring. Every time they started a new letter, the imp began to tell her the whole history behind it; at least what he thought how that letter could have been developed. And he always got angry when she didn't write the letters properly. But this wasn't her fault at all – it's really hard to write with a wooden stick into the ground and having an impatient teacher sitting next to her.

She reached Jaken and settled down beside him.

"Fine. Today you learn the last letter in Hiragana." Announced the imp. 'Finally it's over!'

"The last one! … Yay!" The girl jumped up and down out of joy. This might be the last day, she's stuck with Jaken teaching her. Not that she didn't want to learn it any more; but she liked picking flowers more than being around the imp the whole day… and trying to listen to his loooong speeches. "Then Rin can read and write?" she asked hopefully.

"Hai, you can." Jaken answered flatly.

"Then lets start, sensei!" ordered the girl and picked up her 'pencil'-stick.

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The last rays of the sun shone through the green and light pink branches of the trees. After finishing her lesson, Rin had made a fire and now three fat fishes were roasting. The girl was happy. She had accomplished her learning and Sesshoumaru would be proud of her. The only thing for her left to do was showing everything to her lord.

She stung her 'pencil' into one of the fishes looking if it's ready. "Oh, no. Still not." She murmured under her breath. Her stomach hurt badly since she had totally forgot to eat the whole day.

Behind her AhUn suddenly lifted its heads turning both to the opening between the sakura-trees.

Immediately Rin did the same and curious looked what her demon had startled. A tall man with long white fur around his body walked elegantly towards the campfire. His white-silver hairs blew in the mild evening breeze.

At his first sight, Rin jumped to her feet and run as fast to her master as her hungry body could manage. Only meters away from the warmth of the fire she finally reached him and hugged his leg tightly. "Rin missed you, Sesshoumaru-sama."

In respond the mighty demon lord rested one of his claws (A/N: yes, he has both arms; that's another story…) on the child's head, stroking tenderly her brown locks.

After a while the girl looked up searching for the lord's golden eyes and smiled broadly. "Rin had learned the last letter today! Now Rin can read and write as Sesshoumaru-sama."

"Is that true?" He asked her releasing her from his grasp. She stepped back and nodded yes. "Fine. Show me."

Rin jumped again and let herself fall to the ground in which she started to write. Her Lord sat down next to her and watched his ward. After a while she looked up to him and pointed to her first written word. "This means 'Rin'." She moved her hand to the next one. "Bird." Then the next. "Sun."

"That's fine, Rin." Sesshoumaru saw how her already broad smile grew more wide.

Proud of herself the girl wrote one final word – her master's name.

She was almost finished when the demon interrupted her. "Rin, that is wrong."

"What?!" Rin looked irritated up and all her joy was gone.

It never was his intention to make his ward sad; in truth he could hardly stand her sad face. "You write my name this way." He took another wooden stick from the ground and scratched into the same.

Now Rin was confused. As hard as she tried she couldn't remember two of the symbols her master had written. "Sesshoumaru-sama, what are these for letters? Rin doesn't know them."

The youkai knew his Rin wouldn't lie to him. "Rin, why do you think you have learned all letters?"

"Jaken-sama said so." She answered in her childish innocence.

Sesshoumaru turned his head to a big trunk under which his servant slept. "Jaken." His sharp voice woke the imp up and the toad trotted sleepy towards them.

"Hai, me lord."

"Rin told me you have taught her the last letter today."

"Hai, Sesshoumaru-sama. That's true." The toad was proud of himself awaiting the praise of his lord.

In his monotone emotionless voice the Tai-youkai continued. "But why does she not know these two." He pointed one clawed finger to the ground.

Jaken's grin faded fast when he looked down to the symbols. "Me lord, this is katakana."

"I see that myself." He shot his servant a death glare. "Why doesn't she know these?"

"A-ah, master. I taught her the whole hiragana-alphabet." Defended the servant himself.

"And the katakana?"

"She is a girl! She doesn't need to know that much. This knowledge is useless to her!" Jaken tried to justify his decision to teach the girl more than less than the half of the letters.

"Jaken. It's not upon you to decide what is useful for Rin and what is not! She wanted to learn to read and to write properly and you will teach her that." When the lord didn't got a respond from his unwilling servant he repeated himself. "Understood?"

Jaken hung his head and finally answered. "Hai, me lord." Then he turned around to go back to his tree.

"And Jaken." Sesshoumaru wanted to make it clear, even for a little toad brain. "It won't be looking good for you if I find out that you skipped a letter."

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THE END (of this short story)

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A/N: This was the first of some side-stories to "UNEXPECTED TURN". There will be some more about Sessy and Rin. So look forward to these and if you liked this one please let me know (review). Tell me if you wanna read more about the two.

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